Baby Daddy
by theyellowumbrella
Summary: "What are you gonna do?" Pam's first to ask. "I think I'm gonna take him in. You know, do the whole dad thing." season 2 au, no definite pairings, pam/ryan friendship


**So, I'm not sure if this will turn into a Pam/Ryan story, but it'll certainly have Pam/Ryan friendship and support and stuff. Because I always wished we got to see more than the awfulness in the finale of daddy!Ryan. No pairings are decided as of yet, but we'll see, right? Set some time in season two when Pam and Roy are engaged, but canon events will take place. The baby is more of a plot device than a main part, really. I have one more day of Easter break so I'll try and update soon. I actually mean it this time.**

It's just been one thing after another today.

First, her alarm hadn't gone off and then, she got a call from that place downtown to tell her that the job wasn't hers. Then, Roy screamed at her for not doing the goddamn dishes. She's got a job interview for a receptionist opening at this company called Dunder Mifflin and Pam really hopes that this isn't the job she's left to take.

It's not a serious interview, just something that she's set up to fall back on. She gets there in time all the same, and when she sees the man behind the reception desk, she understands why they need a new one. He's sprawled across the seat that doesn't look to be comfortable enough and the phone's ringing but he isn't answering it—everyone's shouting, "_Kevin_!" but he isn't catching on—and he looks like he'd rather be anywhere but there.

"Hi," she says when he's caught sight of her. He nods at her as if to greet her in a similar way and she says, "I'm here to interview for the receptionist job," to explain her presence.

"Ah," he says and then he fumbles around with the phones until eventually, he just shouts, "Michael! The lady's here to talk to you about the job!"

The interview goes okay. The boss, Michael Scott, is kind of weird, but in a good way. In a refreshing way. Pam's almost certain that she's got the job (even if she isn't planning on taking it), and her suspicions are confirmed a couple of days later when she gets a call from Michael. She tells him that she'll think about it just so she can wait until another opportunity arises, but after a couple of weeks pass, it's apparent that Dunder Mifflin is her only hope.

So, she gives him a call and tells him that she'll take the job and when does she start? It turns out that they've been surviving without a receptionist since she put the job on hold and people just go up and answer the phones willy-nilly and she's sort of glad that she's the superhero that's going to save them, as awful as that sounds.

Her first day goes pretty well. Roy's having a good day and he kisses her goodbye at the door and tells her good luck and that she'll do great, and this guy who sits just a little bit away from her desk is really funny, despite how annoying his deskmate Dwight is. There's this guy who everyone calls temp and Fire Guy for some reason and he's really cute and funny, but him and that Indian girl from Customer Services are dating anyway, so it's a moot point. (And, you know, she's engaged).

After about a month, she's settled in and everyone knows her as the candy lady because for the first few days, she put candy in a tray for everyone and then it became her thing. "Hey, candy lady," Ryan says, approaching her desk. He takes a jelly bean out of the tray and pops it into his mouth.

"Hey, temp." It's become their thing to call each other by their nicknames rather than their real names. "What's up?"

"Some of the guys are meeting at Poor Richard's tonight for drinks and they wanted to know if you want to come?" he asks, leaning against the counter. "You know, as a welcome to the office thing."

"Um," she says, trying to imagine Roy's reaction to her going out with some of the guys from work (if the guys meant men). "I'll have to check with my fiance, see if we have anything on, but I can't see why not."

"Great. Maybe I'll see you then." His smile falters at the mention of a fiance but quickly reappears before Pam can notice. He takes a couple of jelly beans for later and heads back to his desk.

Pam smiles and phones her and Roy's house, knowing that he'll be watching TV or making late breakfast or something. He picks up after fourteen and a half rings with a half-hearted, "Yeah?"

"Hey, babe, it's me."

"Pam!"

"Yeah. Um, some of the guys from work were wondering if I wanted to have a drink with them. I just wanted to check if that's okay." She hates that she has to ask for his permission.

"What guys?"

"I don't know. Just some of the guys from the office. I can check, if you want..." Roy makes a grunt as if to say yes, so Pam beckons Ryan over to her desk. "What guys are coming?"

"Um, you know, me, Jim, Michael... the guys. And Kelly insisted on tagging along," he says in response.

"Just a bunch of the girls. Ryan's coming too, with Kelly." His eyebrows shoot up at her lie and Ryan sends her a small smirk.

"Oh. Alright, whatever. Seeya." Roy hangs up the phone without another word, and as soon as the receiver's down, Ryan starts to taunt Pam.

"Lying to the fiance, I see. This is a new side to you. I like it." She looks down nervously, but Ryan laughs and says, "Don't worry, I'm kidding."

"He doesn't like it when I hang around guys too much. Plus, you're all a bunch of girls." She sends him a daring smirk. Just then, the phone decides to ring. "One minute." Ryan smiles at her. "Dunder Mifflin, this is Pam... okay, sure, I can put you through. He's actually here right now, so... yeah, here he is. Ryan, there's a girl on the phone for you. Says it's important."

Ryan takes the phone from her and there's some hushed whispers until he slams the phone down on the desk without explanation. "Shit."

"What? What is it?" Pam asks as Ryan starts to get pale.

"I'm a dad."

It's like then, Jim and Dwight stop bickering and Kevin stops shouting profanities at Angela, who waves him off with an eye roll and a mutter of disgust and everyone turrns to face him. "What? What's happening?" Michael asks as he exits his office, noticing the sudden stop in work.

"Um... I gotta go, alright? I'm taking a few hours off work. I'll work overtime next week or something, there's just something I've got to do." Without explanation, Ryan rushes out of the room and everyone's left dumbfounded.

Ryan turns up at Poor Richard's that night with a full explanation of what had happened before. He throws himself into the chair beside Pam and orders fifty shots of tequila—ten for each of them—and tries his best not to make eye contact with Kelly, who's clearly pissed at him.

"About a year ago, I had a one night stand with this girl called Carly. It seemed like a good idea at the time and I guess the condom broke. It turns out, she got pregnant and never told me and now she doesn't want him anymore, and if I don't take him in then he's going up for adoption," Ryan says as he downs another shot.

"What are you gonna do?" Pam's first to ask.

"I think I'm gonna take him in. You know, do the whole dad thing. I don't know. It could be fun."

"You don't become a parent because it's fun, Ryan," Pam says.

"I know, but I wanna do this." He turns to face Kelly, who's beaming at her boyfriend. "Kelly, we need to break up. If I'm gonna be a dad then I can't have anything distracting me."

Kelly's face breaks into a frown and she storms away with tears forming in her eyes. "Well," Michael says, breaking the thick silence. "I think this deserves celebration!" His eyes light up and he grabs the arm of the nearest waitress. "Can we get four beers and—Pam, what do you want?"

"Uh, just a beer for me. Thanks," she tells the waitress with a friendly smile.

"Okay! Five beers, on me! Woo! Ryan's gonna be a _dad_!"

"Well, the baby's already born, but—"

"To Ryan!" Jim toasts before an argument can escalate.

"To Ryan!" everyone repeats, and that night they drink until the room's spinning and they're all piling into one cab and shouting five different addresses at the cabbie.

Ryan wakes the next morning with his head split in fifteen different places and at least an hour and a half late for work. The curtains are half open and the sun's pouring into his room and Ryan wishes he could just bury his head under his pillow and sleep forever, but he really has to get up to not sell any paper and talk to the receptionist. You know, the normal day at Dunder Mifflin.

He pulls on a crumpled blue shirt and yanks on the first tie he sees and he's out the door within five minutes. When he finally arrives, the only person that makes a comment on his impunctuality is Dwight, and even then it's half-assed because he's caught on that something's going on in Ryan's personal life and he really doesn't want to be the cause of yet another mental breakdown.

"Hey, candy lady," he says about halfway through the day as he leans against Pam's desk.

"Hey, Fire Guy," she responds weakly, looking up from her computer.

"There's a message for you. It was from Carly."

"What did she say?"

"She asked you to call her back." Pam dials a number and hands Ryan the phone, shrugging when he looks confused. "This is her."

"Hello?" the familiar voice asks. "_Hello_?"

"Um. Hi, Carly, it's Ryan. I'm returning your call. I want to meet the kid... okay, I can come today... I can probably get out like, right now. My boss loves me... can I bring my friend Pam? I mean, if it's okay with her... we're just friends... okay, let me get a pen... sure, thanks... see you soon." He jots down her address on a random piece of paper and hangs up. "Pam, can you please come with me? I don't think I can meet him alone and you're like... my best friend." He looks down and blushes, but she nods yes and smiles at him. "Okay, I'll go talk to Michael."

He enters Michael's office and plasters a smile on his face. "Hey, Michael, I was wondering if I could get the rest of the day off. Pam and I are going to go and meet my son for the first time."

"Say no more. Of course you can take the rest of the day off, as can Pam! Have fun!"

When Pam and Ryan arrive at the house, it's 2:03 PM and Carly's just arrived home from work. "Hi," he says breathlessly when they arrive.

"Come in," Carly says simply.

"Okay." Pam follows her friend as he takes a weary step into the house. Toys litter the floors and you can hear children's TV in the background.

"Drew's in the living room."

"Is that his name?" Carly nods. "Drew. Drew Howard. Okay."

Out of his peripheral vision, Ryan can just see Drew as he steps into the living room. When he turns around a little, he sees that the little boy has his glossy blue eyes and Carly's brown hair. "Hi," he whispers, leaning down. The baby makes a noise of excitement and paws at Ryan happily. "I'm your daddy. This is Pam," he says and points to Pam. "And I'm gonna be raising you soon, and Pam's my best friend so you're probably gonna see her again."

"Yeah. Hi," Pam whispers in the same tone as Ryan.

They play with the baby until Roy calls and Pam has to leave and Ryan has to drive her home too.


End file.
